WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday appealed to rival Bernie Sanders' supporters for party unity after declaring herself the first woman to be nominated by a major U.S. political party.
"Let there be no mistake: Senator Sanders, his campaign and the vigorous debate that we've had about how to raise income, reduce inequality, increase upward mobility, have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America," said Clinton at a rally in New York.
"It never feels good to put our heart into a cause or a candidate you believe in and come up short. I know that feeling well," said Clinton in an attempt to connect with Sanders' supporters using her loss in 2008 primary race to Barack Obama.
"But as we look ahead to the battle that awaits, let's remember all that unites us," she added.
Clinton hit the 2,383-delegate threshold to clinch the nomination on Monday night according to a survey by the Associated Press which showed that Clinton had garnered enough support of superdelegates to claim the party nomination.
On Tuesday night, Clinton further expanded her lead over Sanders in delegate count, notching victories in New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota, three of the six states voting Tuesday.
Clinton also unleashed harsh criticism against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump for his past incendiary remarks against women, Muslims and immigrants and took specific aim at his latest comments about a Hispanic-American judge because of his ethnic background.
"The stakes in this election are high and the choice is clear. Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander-in-chief," said Clinton.
Over the past week, Trump repeatedly accused U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the Indiana-born jurist overseeing a civil fraud suit in California involving Trump University, of being unfit for the case because he was of "Mexican heritage."  (Xinhua)